Giving Thanks

Almost four months after the bar exam, New York's Board of Law Examiners has finally released the results . . . and I have passed the goddamn bar.

Immediately after the exam I concluded that, although some of the essays had been disastrous (i.e. the one on No-Fault Insurance), I would probably be able to compensate with better multi-state scores. This proved to be correct. May I boast? Well, it's my blog . . . I got a raw score of 173 (177 scaled) on the MBE. BarBri claimed that no one has ever failed the NY bar with a MBE raw score higher than 140 so the multi-state put me in safe territory.

Thursday is Thanksgiving and I will be giving thanks in New Hampshire to the God of Waves. It appears that there will be big surf on the day and smaller, cleaner surf on Friday. While not surfing I'll be hanging with Ray and his family (who have conveniently, and sensibly, moved from Cleveland to New Hampshire).

UPDATE: The high seas forecast for the North Atlantic includes a "hurricane force" warning with 34 foot seas. The New Hampshire forecast is a little more tame with a gale warning for tonight and 11 foot seas tomorrow. Hopefully, the wind will turn westerly before the sun sets and it will settle down.

Turned Back by Snow and Ice

You Australians are probably getting ready for that annual assault on the nervous system otherwise known as summer. I, on the other hand, have been getting a taste of what my first Vermont winter is likely to be. Before we have even reached the middle of November, we have had snow, temperatures as low as -8C and bone chilling wind. This morning Jon E and I went for a bike ride on South Hero Island and we noticed ice forming in the bays. Within five minutes of setting out we had dug out our balaclavas to protect our faces from the freezing wind. "Fall" my ass.

Last weekend I tried to climb Mt Worcester again. I figured that Mt. Worcester wouldn't be too bad as it's not one of the higher mountains around here. I was expecting some snow at the top but the snow line actually began at the bottom of the trail. Half way up the snow was 2-4 inches deep. I would have turned back but I was able to follow someone else's boot prints up.


On the Mt. Worcester trail

At the tree line the trail gets steep and rocky. The snow was also getting deeper with a layer of ice underneath clinging to the rocks. I decided that I wasn't going to get to the top and then back down (the decent is the tricky part) before dark. On the way down I met the hiker, Erica, who had made the tracks I was following (and who took these photos). She confirmed that there was no way I would have made it to the top and back by sunset.


East from Mt. Worcester

Hmm, what else to blog about?

At work I have been steadily fighting the enemy. Who is the enemy? Pending motions are the enemy. After a lull, I have been slaying pending motions with abandon. Take that! motion for summary judgment and that! motion for reconsideration and that! motion to show cause.

How about some links?

Do you find yourself, every morning, wondering what to do with your day? Then try this site. It will tell you what to do.

And, in case anyone hasn't noticed, Tim has triumphantly returned to his blog Un. Yay for Tim.

Indie Rock and Trademark Law

This is cool. The Death Cab/Dntel side project The Postal Service has settled its trademark dispute with the United States Postal Service. Apparently, the feds sent Sub Pop a cease and desist letter explaining that they had a federal trademark on the name "Postal Service". Sub Pop managed to convince the feds that, rather than taking away their name, they should let them do some cross promotion. So, the emo-electronica band - who never play live - are going to do a show for postal service executives. Also, they are going to sell albums at post offices and their music will appear on US Postal Service ads.